The Herald

“Last time I do a favor for Rollins…” He looked at the note he’d been given from Rollins about taking a friend of his along with him. Victor glanced around his horses, and checked the fastenings on the saddles for the fourth time as the wind picked up. He looked at the skies as the heavens threatened to open up and deliver their own cargo upon the land, before exhaling heavily. Climbing back up into the bench on the front of the wagon he muttered, “I just hope whenever this Sherry gets here that she’s packed and ready to go.”

“I’m right here and ready, sir.”

“By the Virtues!” Victor exclaimed as his heart raced in his chest, looking down to where the voice had come from, and seeing only a tawny little mouse wearing a tiny grey shawl over her shoulders. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, before realization hit him. “Y-you’re the Sherry! Sherry the mouse I mean!”

“That’s right! It’d take me a lot longer to walk to Yew than I’d like, so I asked around if there were any travelers on the way, and that’s how I found you! Permission to come aboard, sir!” Sherry let out a few quick squeaks which Victor chose to interpret as her attempt at giggling. He reached a hand down to help her, and she scampered quickly to sit next to him. With a crack of leather he lashed the reins of the horses to spur them on towards the road.

Sherry squeaked in surprise at the noise. Looking slightly abashed, her voice rose above the hoofbeats, “Sorry! It’s been a while since I’ve ridden with anyone. I’d almost forgotten how fast it feels traveling this way! So how has your trading business been lately?”

Victor shushed her, much to Sherry’s chagrin, before he spoke quietly enough that it hardly rose past the percussive beat of hooves. “It’s been…good and bad. I’ve been getting more pay for my goods, but the roads have been more dangerous lately, and a lot of traders don’t make it to their destination. We must be careful.” Victor sighed at length, looking across the darkening road as the sun descended further in its orbit. “It seems that the feeling left over from banding together to defeat Virtuebane is swiftly vanishing, and the nobles are fighting even worse than before.”

Sherry’s face lengthened as she listened, and she looked down to the road swiftly passing by underneath the wagon, before looking back up to Victor. Victor’s eyes were locked on the road, but they darted back and forth in the gloom of the forest, seeking out hidden dangers. Sherry started to open her mouth but was interrupted as Victor spoke once more.

“There’s a lot of paranoia and tension in the realm. I’ve seen fights break out between trading partners of decades, and families torn apart over their family businesses. I don’t think there’s a way to stop it.” Victor shuddered at something that this mention conjured up inside him, and Sherry stared at him briefly.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Victor’s eyes held a haunted and tortured look in them, and he took a deep breath before he spoke, but he refused to meet Sherry’s gaze. “Sherry … let me tell you a story about an … experience I had last week in Vesper. Maybe it’ll help to finally tell someone. It started off with an innocent enough encounter…” Victor took a deep breath, and as Victor told the story Sherry swore she was seeing it unfold right in front of her very eyes…

Victor paused amidst the bridge and looked south towards the sea, taking in the sights of the boats on the horizon before he heard another’s approach. He ignored them until he noticed that the woman had stopped and rested her own hands on the bridge and seemed to be gazing out to sea as well, though her wide-brimmed hat covered much of her face. As thunder echoed in the distance the woman spoke so softly that at first Victor wasn’t sure she’d spoken at all. “Excuse me?”

“There’s a storm coming, you know.”

Victor chuckled good-naturedly. “Not a rare thing here in Vesper.” He looked over to the woman but his smile vanished in an instant at the sight of her face as she turned to look at him. While the gypsy woman’s toothy smile was almost malicious in its bearing, it was her clouded, murky white eyes that resonated through a chord of fear in his being. Despite her obvious blindness, her gaze seemed to bore deep within to his very core. He had never felt a sense of trepidation like that which accompanied her next question.

“Would you like to know the future, boy?”

Victor swallowed hard and his hand went down to a pocket to fish out a few coins, hurriedly passing them to the woman while nodding his assent. Realizing his mistake he swallowed again, as all the stories of fortunetellers and oracles that he’d heard as a child flooded back to him in an instant.

“Y-yes, I would.”

The gypsy’s arms rose up and the shawl around her shoulders fluttered as she gestured with her hands, performing some archaic bit of wizardry to allow her to pierce the veil. Her voice dropped into a hoarse whisper as her movements held a rhythm all their own that kept his attention riveted.

“People have risen and people have fallen, and throughout it all none hear the calling. The storm clouds gather and their potency rises, as none step forth to address the crisis. Though the raging winds and lightning ensue, it’s their aftermath that poses to consume. The path will open to our preservation, but not without its own consternations. The flames will brew and threaten us all, unless a way is found to pacify the squall.” Her tones had taken on an eerie cadence of song to them, and her swaying came to a close as she finished her incantations, regarding the shaken Victor as if waiting for some kind of response.

“I…I don’t understand. What do we do?” Victor’s voice trembled for a moment as he forgot himself, while he felt a swell of dread rising in his gut. The gypsy folded her arms over her chest and bowed her head slightly so her hat covered all but his view of her mouth. Her lips moved ever so deliberately as she spoke once more, but this time with none of the lyrical tones she had adopted during her divinations.

“The fires of fate will burn hot and bright, and this cannot be stopped by mortal hand; it is our duty to determine what these fires do.” With that she started to walk across the bridge before he shouted to her, causing her to pause and seemingly glance back over her shoulder.

“What do you mean? I still don’t understand!”

“Fire is a destructive and constructive force. In its embrace is where we can burn away our impurities, but linger too long and nothing is left to salvage.” With that parting shot, the blind fortuneteller strode confidently through a Vesper that felt colder and harsher than it had mere moments ago…

As Victor’s tale drew to a close, Sherry gave the wagon driver a plaintive glance, and her tiny body shook as she swore she could almost hear the woman’s voice. She couldn’t find any words in response and instead studied Victor’s face inquisitively. It was plagued with worry and uncertainty, and she could feel its infectious touch beckoning her.

Victor’s dismayed expression only darkened as they passed by the burned and arrow pocked wreckage of another caravan along the road, and the sky suddenly burst forth with a crash of lightning. Raindrops began to patter along the wagon, and Victor gestured to the covered portion. “Go ahead and get inside, it’ll keep you warm and mostly dry. I’ll tell you when we arrive.”

Sherry climbed inside the wagon without a word and curled herself up into a ball against a few sheafs of wheat that were in the wagon, carefully avoiding the holes in the patched and worn canvas roof. Despite the shelter of the wagon keeping her warm and dry, her body was wracked with shivers from a chill that emanated from within. When sleep came to her, it arrived riddled with nightmares.

During the maintenance tonight, the Europa and Drachenfels shards will remain down for an extended period of time. At this moment we expect the shards to go offline at 12am EDT and be back online no later than 2am EDT.

Please keep an eye on the Herald for any updates regarding this maintenance.

Publish 74 comes to Test Center later today, along with the Enhance Client Patch 4.0.22 and the Classic Client Patch 7.0.22.

Here are the notes for your reading pleasure.

See you in-game!

Publish 74.0.0

Live Arc Started

You will be noticing we have added town loyalty, please pick the town you are the fondest of, you can only have loyalty to one town. Starting this month and continuing thru September the UO Team and the EM Team have worked together to create something we are very excited about. So keep your ears and eyes open for the next phase in this adventure as we prepare in the coming months for our 15th Anniversary!

Bulk Order Revamp

Bulk Order Caching

NPCs will now allow cache up to 3 bulk order deeds for players

All BODs are limited to one every six hours; this is no longer dependent on crafting skill level

Grand Artifice: guarantees that the resulting item will have one name, either a prefix or a suffix

Inspired Artifice: allows you to choose which name will be added to the item.

Exalted Artifice: guarantees that the item will have two names, both a prefix and a suffix

Sublime Artifice: allows you to choose a name to be added to the item. You must use both Inspired Artifice and Sublime Artifice in conjunction if you wish to choose both names to add to the item

Some options require other options to be set:

Fortified Re-Forging requires Structural Re-Forging

Integral Re-Forging requires Fundamental Re-Forging

Concentrated Imbuing requires Focused Imbuing

Inspired Artifice requires Grand Artifice

Exalted Artifice required Grand Artifice

Sublime Artifice requires Exalted Artifice

Higher-level tools:

Have higher budgets for adding item properties

Grant more properties

Runic tools can be combined together if they are exactly the same type

Their charges will be combined into one tool

Only works if the resulting tool has 100 or less charges

To combine tools, double-click one tool while near a Soul Forge and target the other tool

Wrong Dungeon Revamp

Loot items from this dungeon now use the New Loot Generator

Mobs in Wrong can drop Mondain’s Legacy items, but not Gargoyle items

New and tougher mobs

Prisoner Escort: gain Compassion more rapidly by escorting prisoners out of Dungeon Wrong

Bedrolls: Search prisoners’ bedrolls to see what they’ve been up to

The Prison of Nightmares

You start in a cell in the center

Can you find your way through a maze of vanishing walls?

Watch out for the Jailor – he will put you back in your cell!

Find the treasure room and steal some enchanted items

Watch out, these items have a security enchantment

You must escape with the item to lift the enchantment that binds it to the treasure room

New Item Property: Assassin Honed (found on items in the treasure room) – A successful hit with a weapon will provide additional bonus damage based on the attacker facing the same direction as the target. The percentage of the damage is based on the weapons original swing speed. Ranged weapons have a 50% chance to proc.

New Stealables

Clean up Britannia – 4 new dyes

Aura of Amber Pigment

Murky Seagreen Pigment

Shadowy Blue Pigment

Gleaming Fuschia Pigment

Looting rights distribution change

Healers, Tanks, and DPS will all be equally counted when receiving looting rights throughout the game.

Bard changes

Context menu updates:

Will now display the mastery path you are currently on.

Will allow you to switch masteries without having to re-do quests, once every 10 Minutes.

Initiating any mastery ability will update your mastery book with the new context menu.

Bug Fixes

Fixed the issue with the Dream Serpent not spawning in Ter Mur

HP, Stamina and Mana of duelist in the arena will be completely restored after the duel

The Christmas mats are now dyable with the standard dye tub, the furniture dye tub, natural dyes, tokuno dyes, and the clean up britiannia pigments. Please remember the square mat can only be dyed when in deed form.

Fixed the issue of the Christmas greeting card changing their from and to values

Fixed the issue of welcome mats blocking players from entering their homes with a single door.

When trading a pet the pet will now become frozen, an animal lore gump will be displayed and the pet has to be within 10 tiles of the owner.

Special Titles were added to the arena system.

Fixed the issue with how the garland hangs in the EC client

Siege should now have arena stones

Balanced will no longer be given to throwing weapons with the new loot generator

Removed the Fireworks wand form the clean up items accepted

Immolating Weapon fir damage will now apply to each weapon hit instead of killing blow.

10th Anniversary sculpture can now be turned with the interior decorating tool.

Mannequins will no longer be ejected from a house when the house private/public settings are adjusted.

Green Thorns can no longer be used in champ spawn areas containing sand terrain.

Players are no longer able to enter a negative balance in Sacrifice

Fixed an issue with SA Goblins spawning in stuck locations

Fixed an issue with the Lava Proof Hook, it should now attach correctly to the pole.

Owners cannot eject co-owner placed Mannequins from a house.

Magic Reflect will no longer flag you for reflecting non damaging spells.

Spectators can no longer invite duel participants to a party.

Removed a rogue cobblestone tile from the middle of the ocean.

In chat players can now use the players ID number to submit a harassment appeal

The Blood Drinker property will now spawn on items that are spawned with the new loot generator.

Classic client 7.0.22

Enhanced Client 4.0.22

The Ultima Online Forums had the opportunity to interview Jeff Skalski, the Ultima Franchise Producer and published part one of the Q&A on their site.

What is a typical day like in the office for you?
Starbucks in one hand and iPad in the other. I really avoid spending too much time in Outlook. Instead, I’d rather be engaged with fellow team members. In between that, I’m playing the game, in meetings, looking ahead and communicating in all directions around me about how we’re doing.

To get a better understanding of your producer and what changes we can look forward to for Ultima Online, head over to the Ultima Online Forums for the complete interview.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in assisting the Mysterious Healer in combating the horrid plague that has afflicted the Gargish of Ter Mur. Thanks to your hard work and dedication the Gargish will survive!

Keep an eye on the Herald in coming days for more fiction as we finish The Awakening leading up to our 15th Anniversary.

Publish 78.0.0

Anniversary Items

Anniversary items for the 15th Anniversary of Ultima Online have been added. Considering these are a gift from us to you, we will drop a few sneak peaks in the upcoming weeks.

All Characters older than 30 days will be eligible to receive Anniversary Items beginning September 1st, 2012 and ending September 30th, 2012

Despise Dungeon Revamp

Two brothers, both well learned in the arcane arts, lusted for the same woman. She was but a simple maiden, tending to the ranches dotting Britannian countryside, her beauty, however, was without equal. Both men knew should they compete against one another, neither would succeed in bearing fruit with such beauty. So the brothers conspired, and began to corrupt the very fabric of her love. Together the brothers conjured a powerful Polymorph spell to transfigure themselves into the perfect man for the maiden to love. For months they would deceive her love, the maiden unknowingly accomplice to a corrupt triangle. Finally, she gave birth to twins. Despite the powerful magics the brothers used to pursue their ruse, the mother’s love for her children was too great and the brother’s trickery was uncovered. Outraged at such a thing the maiden cast away her lovers forever, cursing them to the Abyss. As the twins grew and their mother aged they would learn of her hate towards their fathers. As each twin grew to adulthood and became their own man, they would blame the other for their own father’s fate, and come to despise one another. Already practiced in their fathers’ art and fully possessing their arcane talent the twins began bartering with the mysterious Wisps. Eventually each convinced the Wisps to conjure an army with which to destroy the other. Their mother, bearing witness to this feud and knowing the dangers of the likely outcome, pleaded with her sons to reconcile. Corrupt with rage, there was no foregoing their anger and so she mediated at the Shrine of Compassion, hoping in her heart of hearts for her sons to end the feud. As she meditated a mysterious Wisp appeared to her and in an instant an eternal pact was struck. The mother’s love was enough to save Britannia from impending war, but her sons, filled with despise would be cast there forever…

Note that this new content is on Trammel only

There is a mysterious wisp near the entrance to Despise. Double-click it to have a conversation and learn something of the new dungeon content.

The top two levels of the dungeon are now aligned to Good and Evil and are at war

Look for the stone ankh inside the dungeon, and use it to commune with a Wisp

Your purpose is to help out your side in the war by building and training your army

The strongest army will periodically be transported to the Final Battle in the depths of Despise

Collect Putrid Hearts (the Dungeon Crystals of Despise) and spend them with the Mysterious Wisp on powerful rewards

The Final Fight can yield new artifacts!

Despise Artifacts

Compassion’s Eye
Ring

Intelligence Bonus 10

Mana Increase 10

Mana Regeneration 2

Luck 250

Spell Damage Increase 20%

Lower Reagent Cost 20%

Unicorn Mane Woven Sandals/Talons

Human: Sandals

Gargoyle: Leather Talons

Nightsight

Random Damage Eater 2%

Despicable Quiver / Despicable Vail

Human: Large Quiver

Archery +5

Damage Modifier 10%

Dexterity Bonus 5

Reflect Physical Damage 5%

Hit Chance Increase 5%

Random Resist 10%

Lower Ammo Cost 30%

Weight Reduction 30%

Gargoyle: Leather Wing Armor

Throwing +5

Dexterity Bonus 5

Reflect Physical Damage 5%

Hit Chance Increase 5%

Random Resist 10%

Hailstorm
Human: War Fork
Gargoyle: Gargish War Fork

Random Super Slayer

Hit Lightning 15%

Hit Mana Leech 30%

Hit Cold Area 100%

Hit Chance Increase 20%

Swing Speed Increase 25%

Damage Increase 50%

Cold Damage 100%

Durability 255/255

Cleanup Britannia Dyes

Two new and two old dyes have been added to the Cleanup Britannia Collection.

Players may choose the following dyes:

Black and Green Pigment

Shadow Blue Pigment

Vibrant Crimson Pigment

Reflective Shadow Pigment

Halloween Masks Added

Two new Halloween Masks have been added. Beware of the pumpkin patch between October 1st, 2012 and November 10th, 2012

New Casino Games

Visit the Fortune’s Fire Casino at the base of the volcano on Fire Isle

See the Cashier to buy Casino Chips or to cash out your winnings. The exchange rate is 100 gold for 1 chip

Bet your Chips with one of the two dealers in the Dice Tent:

Chuckles’ Luck: Bet on a number between 1 and 6. The dealer rolls 3 dice. You win your bet amount for each time your lucky number comes up!

iHi-Middle-Lo: Place a bet on “High”, “Middle”, “Low”, or “Outside”. For the real gamblers out there, the “Outside” bet pays 5:1 on a win!

There was hardly anything left after they were done. He’d borne witness to the frantic looting of the castle and had found himself only able to escape with his life. It was unthinkable, and as such it had caught him and seemingly everyone else completely unawares. Explosions were set off throughout the capital city…though there wasn’t much point in even calling it the capital city anymore at this point. Britannia was on the brink of collapse into a fully-fledged group of independent city-states, like Nujel’m had always been. All he had been able to salvage were the clothes on his back and the rumpled piece of cloth in his hand. He thought back to the incident in his head, still confused over the choice he’d made…

The fighting was getting closer, and he’d managed to wrap up a dozen or more bottles from the cellar into his tattered cloak, gathering it up and cinching it into a makeshift sack. The shouts were louder, and the wind brought the scent of smoke through the open windows, mingling in with the smell of the bay in a way that was at once intoxicating and stifling. He could hear the clashing of blade against armor, and when the sound carried right, the screams mingled with the howl of metal against armor, flesh, and bone. Time was quickly running out as he made his way to the front gates, stumbling upon something left on the ground. He looked up to see a crowd forming past the iron portcullis that protected his master’s home…and he could smell the scent of gunpowder. His eyes wide with terror, he turned to gather up his scattered bottles even as he heard the gates being assaulted and scaled. His attention was grabbed once more by the old hat, the one ragged corner missing its’ bell, and his fuzzed thoughts clarified for an instant as he thought back to what an old gypsy had told him years ago.

“Sometimes in the darkest nights where we feel we are but a pawn,
Our true identity and importance is revealed to bring about the dawn.”

He seized upon the piece of fabric, intending to grasp the bottles as well when some of the crowd had already scaled the great gates that protected the castle. Within an instant they were grabbing everything in sight. He struggled to get to the gates, fighting past the mob that seemed intent on looting anything they could find, but he wasn’t making enough headway. The gates were flung open and he managed to get past them and onto the bridge, but a passerby suddenly knocked him into the railing. Windmilling his arms desperately, he felt his balance vanish as he went over the edge into the water, his fingers tightly gripping the hat he had once worn so proudly. As he struggled to kick his way back up a concussive wave suddenly struck, and debris began to sink down into the bay around him. Breaking the waters’ surface, he could see the remains of the castle that he had called home for so long; now naught but broken mortar, pulverized brick, and blazing tinder. Anything left of the bridge that could be of use was gone, and bodies and boards alike floated along the water’s edge as the soft lapping current of the bay pushed them towards the shore. As he finally got to dry land, he found the hat still clutched in his grasp, the only thing he’d saved from the castle. Somehow, even with the tragedy and horror unfolding around him, this one thing felt right.

Time hadn’t helped him figure out why it was important to him. It had been forgotten and left to rot as long as he himself had. Still, the gypsy’s words resonated within him and he wondered if this really meant anything, or if it was just the newest in a long series of jests that fate had played on yet another pawn on the chessboard. And if for some reason the gypsy’s words were true then, the warning she gave him later may yet hold water.

“When the yearning arises and all things are taken,
The one sealed away will begin to awaken.”

An involuntary shiver ran through him, and he knew it was from more than just thinking about the chill that the water had left him with.

We would like to take a moment to remind players to be wary of efforts from outside sources to compromise your account security. Please remember, BioWare Mythic will never ask for your Master/Play Account password through in game communication. Additionally, please be mindful of websites you are visiting. Please remember that you will never be asked to enter your account information anywhere but the Mythic Account Center (https://accounts.eamythic.com/), and in the Mythic Patcher when launching the game.

As always, we encourage our players to be safe and secure with your account information by never sharing your account information with anyone, using a strong password utilizing letters, numbers and symbols, paying close attention to websites you visit, and by updating your passwords regularly by visiting the Mythic Account Center.

You also have the option to add a Secret Word to your account. This word will identify you as the true owner of the account in case your details got lost or changed. Again, please make sure that nobody else knows this word.